Israeli strike on press in south Lebanon: 'A deliberate attempt to silence us,' says injured journalist

BEIRUT — A new Israeli strike on the Qannayat bridge in Qasmieh (Sour district) wounded Russia Today journalist Steve Sweeney when he was hit in the hand by shrapnel.

The bridge, already targeted on Wednesday, is a secondary route crossing the Litani River, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent in southern Lebanon.

In a video posted on social media, Sweeney, who was accompanied by his cameraman Ali Sbaity, described the strike as “deliberate,” saying it targeted journalists covering the war in an attempt to silence them.

In the footage, the journalist is seen speaking on the phone with Information Minister Paul Morcos. “We were incredibly lucky. I think this was clearly a deliberate strike by the Israelis attacking journalists reporting in the field and reporting on the ever-mounting Israeli war crimes,” Sweeney said.

Asked whether he believed the strike was intentional, he replied: “Almost certainly it was on purpose. They knew we were on the bridge. They could see. They know everything that happens here in the South. They monitor every movement.”

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“I think it was a deliberate attempt to silence us,” he added. “There is no way they did not know we were on the bridge. They didn’t need to destroy the bridge. It was already destroyed.”

Sweeney said both he and his cameraman were wearing press vests. “We were very clearly identified as press. It is inconceivable that the country with the most advanced military technology in the world (...). They consistently say they carry out precision strikes, so yes, it was a precision strike, but they missed,” he said.

In a statement on X, the Israeli army said images showed a journalist at the Qasmieh crossing point and that it had issued “an explicit warning” about the area. It said the site was struck after a “sufficient delay” and urged residents to heed warnings issued on various platforms, claiming that it does not target civilians or journalists and operates in accordance with international law.

Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed over 1,001 people in Lebanon and injured 2,584 others since March 2, according to the Health Ministry. They have also killed over 270 journalists in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023.

As of March 18, the Committee to Protect Journalists has documented in Lebanon Israeli attacks injuring four journalists, Israeli strikes on four media outlets, the obstruction of crews, as well as the displacement of members of the press from parts of Beirut and the South.

A video published by Russia Today shows Sweeney wearing a bulletproof vest marked “press” and speaking to the camera moments before an explosion occurs nearby. The accompanying message said the footage shows “the moment an Israeli missile struck near RT journalists,” adding that both were wounded.

Moscow condemned the strike, saying it was not accidental. “In the context of the killing of two hundred journalists in Gaza, what happened today cannot be characterized as accidental,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a Telegram post containing the video.

A little later, however, she accused the Israeli army, saying the attack was “a deliberate obstruction of the work of media professionals” and constituted a “gross violation of international law.”

In this context, she called for an “assessment from relevant multilateral bodies, primarily the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and UNESCO” and stated that Russia “will convey its assessment of the incident to the Ambassador of Israel to the Russian Federation who will be summoned to the Foreign Ministry soon.”

The Russian embassy in Lebanon also condemned the incident in a statement and called for “an adequate investigation.”

On Wednesday, Israel carried out several strikes on bridges, claiming it aimed to isolate areas south of the Litani from the rest of the country and cut "Hezbollah’s supply routes." Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the strategy also served as a message to the Lebanese government. Three bridges and crossings were struck that day, in addition to two others targeted on March 13.